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Technology

Poll: What’s your favorite Apple product from 2021 so far?

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As Apple is expected to launch new iPhones, Apple Watch, Macs, and even a new AirPods in the second half of 2021, now serves as a good time to look back at what Apple has already released this year. Today, we want to know: which of the products the company has already released this year is your favorite so far?

The first products Apple announced in 2021 were during the Spring Loaded event, where the company unveiled the AirTag, the new Apple TV 4K, the 24-inch iMac, a new color for the iPhone 12 line, and the brand new M1 iPad Pros.

The Apple AirTag has a reasonable price point with unreasonably-priced accessories. The smart tracker uses the U1 chip, has a year-battery life, and fully integrates with the iPhone and the Find My app. AirTag is a good accessory for keychains, headphones, bags, and more

The second-generation Apple TV 4K introduces a brand new Siri Remote. With a faster processor as well, this is the perfect upgrade for those who’re waiting for a new set-top box from Apple.

After almost a decade, Apple redesigned the iMac, with a 24-inch version. With seven new colors, a new Magic Keyboard, Mouse, and Trackpad options, it has better performance than its previous model thanks to the M1 chip and a nicer 1080p FaceTime HD camera.

The iPad Pro also received a major update. Both the models have the M1 chip, 50% faster than the A12Z Bionic in the fourth-generation iPad Pro, a new Thunderbolt port, and 5G support. The 12.9-inch model received a Liquid Retina XDR display that uses mini-LED technology.

Although it’s just a color update, the iPhone 12 is now available in purple. Whether you were waiting a bit more to upgrade your iPhone, was it a new color enough to buy a new iPhone a few months before the next big update from Apple? Of course, it has the A14 chip, cameras that can shoot Night Mode, and a tweaked design that resembles the iPhone 4 and 5.

Recently, Apple also launched a new MagSafe Battery Pack for the iPhone 12. Although our video review didn’t praise the Smart Battery Case replacement for the newer iPhones, it’s still the only new MagSafe accessory launched by Apple in 2021 so far.

The company also introduced new Apple Watch bands, including new bands for Black History Month, Pride Month, and the Olympics.

It’s also important to mention Beats Studio Buds. At a lower price point than AirPods Pro, this is the first Beats earbuds with ANC and Transparency mode in a compact form-factor and great battery life, as you can see in our review here.

Which is your favorite Apple product from 2021 so far? Vote in the poll and tell us in the comment section below.

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Health

Martha Stewart Doesn’t Go a Day Without Applying This $35 Skincare Product

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Martha Stewart is the queen of many things — TV, the home, cooking and CBD — well, it’s time to add skincare to the list. The entrepreneur is somehow 79 years old, but she still looks fabulous — if you need a reminder, look at her pool selfie last year. So when Stewart recommends a skincare product, we listen.

Luckily for us, she’s spilled the beans on her whole routine, but we wanted to call out one of the most crucial parts of it: Her SPF. It prevents skin cancer, skin inflammation and premature aging. All of those reasons are enough for me to slather on a coat on my face in the morning and to re-up it several times per day — because SPF only lasts for a specific amount of time, depending on which option you choose.

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Stewart opts for the SkinCeuticals Physical Fusion UV Defense SPF 50. SPF 50 might seem a little high, but you want to block out as many UVA and UVB rays as possible. According to Martha Stewart’s website, Stewart doesn’t slather on the sunscreen until she’s about to go outside, which makes sense, as the SPF wears off.

She also enjoys how lightweight the formula is and that it’s tinted. You won’t get that white cast as you apply this sunscreen. It’ll work to match nearly every skin tone, thanks to the iron oxide in the formula which uses color-match technology. The sunscreen will even give you a little bit of that trendy glow, which we can all use a little more of.

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Our mission at SheKnows is to empower and inspire women, and we only feature products we think you’ll love as much as we do. Please note that if you purchase something by clicking on a link within this story, we may receive a small commission of the sale.

Heavy-Duty SPF

Image: SkinCeuticals. – Credit: Image: SkinCeuticals.

Image: SkinCeuticals.

The sunscreen manages to walk the tightrope of having a strong protective formula while also feeling so lightweight that you’ll barely notice that you’re wearing it. It’s available at Dermstore, and Amazon has an SPF 30 version too (though it looks like it’s running low at the moment).

SkinCeuticals Physical Fusion UV Defense SPF 50

$35


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Before you go, check out our slideshow below:

The Most Incredible Beauty Buys You Can Score at Costco

Launch Gallery: The Best Night Creams for Every Skin Type, According to an Aesthetician

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Business

J&J Recalls Aveeno, Neutrogena Spray Sunscreens

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Johnson & Johnson said it was recalling some sunscreens from U.S. stores.



Photo:

Mark Lennihan/Associated Press

Johnson & Johnson is recalling Neutrogena and Aveeno spray sunscreens from U.S. stores after detecting benzene, a potentially cancer-causing chemical, in some samples.

J&J said Wednesday that consumers should stop using and discard the spray sunscreens. The company said it also was notifying distributors and retailers to stop selling the products, and arranging for the return of the products.

A company spokesman said the effort would include removing products from shelves.

The New Brunswick, N.J., company said it doesn’t use benzene in the manufacturing of the spray sunscreens and is investigating the cause of the contamination. The company didn’t say whether the recall will also impact other countries.

J&J, one of the world’s biggest sellers of consumer-health products by sales, didn’t say how many bottles were affected and what the exact benzene levels were, though J&J said the levels were low and not expected to cause health issues.

The spray products affected, J&J said, are sold as Neutrogena Beach Defense, Neutrogena Cool Dry Sport, Neutrogena Invisible Daily, Neutrogena Ultra Sheer and Aveeno Protect + Refresh aerosol sunscreens.

“Out of an abundance of caution, we are recalling all lots of these specific aerosol sunscreen products,” the company said.

Benzene is a chemical that can cause cancer after high levels of exposure. High levels of exposure can also have more immediate effects, including dizziness, confusion and rapid or irregular heartbeats.

Write to Felicia Schwartz at felicia.schwartz@wsj.com

Copyright ©2021 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8

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Business

Boeing Faces New Hurdle in Delivering Dreamliners

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Federal air-safety regulators have stripped

Boeing Co.

BA 3.28%

’s authority to inspect and sign off on several newly produced 787 Dreamliners, part of heightened scrutiny of production problems that have halted deliveries of the popular wide-body jets.

The Federal Aviation Administration said its inspectors, rather than the plane maker’s, would perform routine pre-delivery safety checks of four Dreamliners that Boeing has been unable for months to hand over to its airline customers while it grapples with various quality lapses.

The agency has long empowered Boeing to perform the final safety signoffs on the FAA’s behalf, allowing it to issue what are known as airworthiness certificates needed to hand over new jets to airlines. The FAA said it has withheld the same authority on some of the planes in previous years to keep inspectors’ skills current.

Now, the FAA said its move to withhold final-approval authority was part of a broader set of actions directed at Boeing’s 787 production issues. A spokesman said the agency could decide to have its own inspectors sign off on more Dreamliners. “We can extend the retention to other 787 aircraft if we see the need,” he said.

A Boeing spokesman said Wednesday that the company has engaged the FAA throughout its efforts to resume Dreamliner deliveries and would follow the agency’s direction on final approvals as it has in the past. The spokesman said Boeing was “encouraged by the progress our team is making” on restarting the deliveries.

After halting deliveries in October, Boeing has built up an inventory of more than 80 newly produced, undelivered Dreamliners, according to aviation consulting firm Ascend by Cirium. Boeing has said it expects to resume deliveries by the end of March.

The wide-body jets have an excellent safety record and are used frequently on international routes. Boeing learned of the FAA’s move in January and has already factored the FAA signoffs into its expected delivery schedule, a person familiar with Boeing’s planning said.

Among specific aircraft slated for final approvals by agency inspectors are two Dreamliners ordered by

United Airlines Holdings Inc.

United expects to receive the planes in late March or early April, a person familiar with the Chicago-based carrier’s plans said this week.

The Boeing spokesman said the manufacturer would adjust its delivery plans if needed so it can take the time to conduct comprehensive 787 inspections “to ensure each meets our rigorous engineering specifications.”

The suspension of deliveries has cut off a significant source of cash paid by customers as the plane maker navigates the Covid-19 pandemic and weak demand in global air travel. Bernstein analyst

Doug Harned

has estimated the Dreamliner delivery slowdown could cost Boeing as much as $8 billion in cash flow through 2020 and 2021. He expects half of that to be recovered next year as airlines take delivery and pay the rest of the cost.

Boeing said in January that it would likely continue burning cash this year but has adequate liquidity after raising billions of dollars in debt last year. Investor optimism about the broader travel recovery helped lift its shares by 21% last week. The stock gained another 3.3% on Wednesday, valuing Boeing at $149 billion.

While limited in scope, the FAA move on the Dreamliner is similar to a step the agency took after two crashes of Boeing 737 MAX jets killed 346 people in 2018 and 2019.

The FAA stripped Boeing of its authority to perform the pre-delivery safety checks on MAX jets in late 2019. At the time, a faulty flight-control system and production-related missteps with that aircraft were under congressional and regulatory scrutiny. The FAA approved the 737 MAX to resume passenger flights last year.

The Dreamliner lapses are among several quality problems Boeing has faced in recent years in its commercial, defense and space programs.

Many of the 787 quality lapses involve tiny gaps where sections of the jet’s fuselage, or body of the plane, join together. Problems have emerged in other places, too, including the vertical fin and horizontal stabilizer at the tail, according to a March 12 FAA summary of the agency’s regulatory actions viewed by The Wall Street Journal.

Boeing has previously disclosed problems with a factory process used to generate small shims—materials used to fill the small gaps where the aircraft sections are joined together. Such gaps could lead to eventual premature fatigue of certain portions of the aircraft, potentially requiring extensive repairs during routine, long-term maintenance.

In its summary, the agency said it would hold on to its Dreamliner approval authority “until it is confirmed all shimming issues are resolved and airplanes conform to the FAA-approved design.”

Write to Andrew Tangel at Andrew.Tangel@wsj.com

Copyright ©2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8

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Business

Chinese Hackers Have Been Exploiting A Microsoft Email Product to Steal Data

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Photo: Drew Angerer (Getty Images)

In the latest in a string of security-related headaches for Microsoft, the company warned customers Tuesday that state sponsored hackers from China have been exploiting flaws in one of its widely used email products, Exchange, in order to target American companies for data theft.

In several recently published blog posts, the company listed four newly discovered zero-day vulnerabilities associated with the attacks, as well as patches and a list of compromise indicators. Users of Exchange have been urged to update to avoid getting hacked.

Microsoft researchers have dubbed the main hacker group behind the attacks “HAFNIUM,” describing it as a “highly skilled and sophisticated actor” focused on conducting espionage via data theft. In past campaigns, HAFNIUM has been known to target a wide variety of entities throughout the U.S., including “infectious disease researchers, law firms, higher education institutions, defense contractors, policy think tanks and NGOs,” they said.

In the case of Exchange, these attacks have meant data exfiltration from email accounts. Exchange works with mail clients like Microsoft Office, synchronizing updates to devices and computers, and is widely used by companies, universities, and other large organizations.

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Attacks on the product have unfolded like this: hackers will leverage zero days to gain entry to an Exchange server (they also sometimes used compromised credentials). They then typically will deploy a web shell (a malicious script), hijacking the server remotely. Hackers can then steal data from an associated network, including whole tranches of emails. The attacks were conducted from U.S.-based private servers, according to Microsoft.

Microsoft Corporate Vice President of Customer Security Tom Burt said Tuesday that customers should work quickly to update associated security flaws:

Even though we’ve worked quickly to deploy an update for the Hafnium exploits, we know that many nation-state actors and criminal groups will move quickly to take advantage of any unpatched systems. Promptly applying today’s patches is the best protection against this attack.

The situation was originally brought to Microsoft’s attention by researchers at two different security firms, Volexity and Dubex. According to KrebsOnSecurity, Volexity initially found evidence of the intrusion campaigns on Jan. 6. In a blog post Tuesday, Volexity researchers helped break down what the malicious activity looked like in one particular case:

Through its analysis of system memory, Volexity determined the attacker was exploiting a zero-day server-side request forgery (SSRF) vulnerability in Microsoft Exchange (CVE-2021-26855). The attacker was using the vulnerability to steal the full contents of several user mailboxes. This vulnerability is remotely exploitable and does not require authentication of any kind, nor does it require any special knowledge or access to a target environment. The attacker only needs to know the server running Exchange and what account from which they want to extract e-mail.

These recent hacking campaigns—which Microsoft has said are “limited and targeted” in nature—are unassociated with the ongoing “SolarWinds” attacks that the tech giant is also currently embroiled in. The company hasn’t said how many organizations were targeted or successfully compromised by the campaign, though other threat actors besides HAFNIUM may also be involved. Microsoft says it has briefed federal authorities on the incidents.

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Health

European Commission Grants Ocugen Orphan Medicinal Product Designation for Gene Therapy Product Candidate, OCU400, For the Treatment of Both Retinitis Pigmentosa and Leber Congenital Amaurosis

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MALVERN, Pa., Feb. 23, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Ocugen, Inc., (NASDAQ: OCGN), a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing, and commercializing gene therapies to cure blindness diseases and developing a vaccine to save lives from COVID-19, today announced that on the recommendation of the European Medicines Agency (EMA), the European Commission has granted orphan medicinal product designation for OCU400 (AAV5-hNR2E3), for the treatment of both retinitis pigmentosa (RP) and Leber Congenital amaurosis (LCA).

The prevalence of RP in Europe is estimated at approximately 165,000 patients and the prevalence of LCA in Europe is estimated at approximately 40,000 patients. Globally, the number of people suffering from RP and LCA is estimated to be around 2.0 million and 0.2 million, respectively.

“We believe the granting of this designation by the European Commission validates the potential of our modifier gene therapy platform to treat many inherited retinal diseases (IRDs). IRDs associated with RP and LCA diseases are caused by mutations in over 175 genes, and it is impractical to develop therapies that are specific to each gene. OCU400 has the remarkable potential to address a significant number of patients globally who are in desperate need of rescue from these blindness diseases and we are working diligently to move this program to clinic,” said Dr. Shankar Musunuri, Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer, and Co-founder of Ocugen.

“RP and LCA are chronically debilitating groups of IRDs characterized by severe impairment in visual functions starting as young as infancy, often progressing into night blindness and tunnel vision and eventually causing total blindness as early as the patient’s mid-40s. Since the existing approved therapy only addresses a small percentage of this population, there is an unmet need for new treatment options addressing a wider population of patients with IRDs,” said Dr. Mohamed Genead, Chair of Retina Scientific Advisory Board and Acting Chief Medical Officer of Ocugen.

Nuclear Hormone Receptors such as NR2E3 are important modulators of retinal development and function acting as “master genes” in the retina. NR2E3 is delivered to target cells in the retina using an adeno-associated viral (AAV) vector. As a potent modifier gene, expression of NR2E3 within the retina may help reset retinal homeostasis, potentially stabilizing cells and rescuing photoreceptor degeneration. Preclinical results published in Nature Gene Therapy demonstrate the potency of modifier gene therapy to elicit broad-spectrum therapeutic benefits in early and advanced stages of RP including vision rescue in early and advanced stages of the disease.

Orphan medicinal product designation in Europe offers certain benefits to drug developers while they develop drugs intended for safe and effective treatment, diagnosis, or prevention of rare diseases or conditions that impact fewer than 5 in 10,000 patients in the European Union. Benefits include protocol assistance, reduced regulatory fees, research grants, and 10 years of market exclusivity following regulatory approval.

About Retinitis Pigmentosa
Retinitis pigmentosa is a clinically and genetically heterogeneous group of IRDs characterized by diffuse progressive dysfunction of predominantly rod photoreceptors, with subsequent degeneration of cone photoreceptors, and retinal pigment epithelium (RPE). Visual impairment usually manifests as night blindness and progressive visual field loss. Its prevalence is 1 in 3,000 to 1 in 5,000. RP may be seen in isolation (typical RP) or in association with systemic disease. Over 150 gene mutations have been associated with RP and this number represents only 60% of the RP population. The remaining 40% of RP patients cannot be genetically diagnosed, making it difficult to develop individual treatments.

About Leber Congenital Amaurosis
Leber congenital amaurosis is a family of congenital retinal dystrophies that results in severe vision loss at an early age. Patients present usually with nystagmus, sluggish or near-absent pupillary responses, severely decreased visual acuity, photophobia and high hyperopia. It is the most severe retinal dystrophy causing blindness by the age of 1 year. This dystrophy is a genetically heterogeneous recessive disease affecting 1 in 30,000 to 1 in 81,000 subjects. Mutations in one of more than two dozen genes can cause LCA.

About OCU400
OCU400 is a novel gene therapy product candidate with the potential to be broadly effective in restoring retinal integrity and function across a range of genetically diverse IRDs. OCU400 is the first program that Ocugen is advancing based on its breakthrough modifier gene therapy platform developed by Dr. Neena Haider, Associate Professor of Ophthalmology at Harvard Medical School and Associate Scientist at the Schepens Eye Research Institute (SERI) of Massachusetts Eye and Ear. Ocugen obtained an exclusive worldwide license from SERI to develop and commercialize ophthalmology products based on specified nuclear hormone receptor genes, including NR2E3. Consisting of a functional copy of the nuclear hormone receptor gene NR2E3, OCU400 is delivered to target cells in the retina using an AAV vector. As a potent modifier gene, expression of NR2E3 within the retina may help reset retinal homeostasis, stabilizing cells and potentially rescuing photoreceptors from degeneration.

About Ocugen, Inc.
Ocugen, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing, and commercializing gene therapies to cure blindness diseases and developing a vaccine to save lives from COVID-19. Our breakthrough modifier gene therapy platform has the potential to treat multiple retinal diseases with one drug – “one to many” and our novel biologic product candidate aims to offer better therapy to patients with underserved diseases such as wet age-related macular degeneration, diabetic macular edema, and diabetic retinopathy. We are co-developing Bharat Biotech’s COVAXIN™ vaccine candidate for COVID-19 in the U.S. market. For more information, please visit www.ocugen.com.

Cautionary Note on Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which are subject to risks and uncertainties. We may, in some cases, use terms such as “predicts,” “believes,” “potential,” “proposed,” “continue,” “estimates,” “anticipates,” “expects,” “plans,” “intends,” “may,” “could,” “might,” “will,” “should” or other words that convey uncertainty of future events or outcomes to identify these forward-looking statements. Such statements are subject to numerous important factors, risks and uncertainties that may cause actual events or results to differ materially from our current expectations. These and other risks and uncertainties are more fully described in our periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including the risk factors described in the section entitled “Risk Factors” in the quarterly and annual reports that we file with the SEC. Any forward-looking statements that we make in this press release speak only as of the date of this press release. Except as required by law, we assume no obligation to update forward-looking statements contained in this press release whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, after the date of this press release.

Ocugen Contact:
Ocugen, Inc.
Sanjay Subramanian
Chief Financial Officer and Head of Corporate Development
ir@ocugen.com

Media Contact:
For Ocugen:
LaVoieHealthScience
Emmie Twombly
etwombly@lavoiehealthscience.com
+1 857-389-6042

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Technology

Neeva by IIT grads to take on Google with ad-free, private search product

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“At scale, an ad-supported product serves the company that shows you ads, it does not serve you.” With this thought, Sridhar Ramaswamy and Vivek Raghunathan, IIT alumni and former Google executives, are ready to roll out Neeva, an ad-free, private search product, which, by the middle of this year, hopes to offer a customer-paid and customer-first alternative, at a time of growing concerns over the control wielded by tech megaliths. Read in Malayalam

“The ad model has been great for bringing search to everyone on the planet, but over time, there is more and more pressure to show more ads and not really what the user wants. Our thesis is that we can create a much better search product, focusing solely on what a customer needs,” says Ramaswamy, the CEO of Neeva, speaking on a video call from his California home. This is a domain the 54-year-old knows well, having been the senior vice-president of ads and commerce at Google, and also run its travel, shopping and search infrastructure teams.

Raghunathan studied at IIT Mumbai and was earlier vice-president of Monetisation at YouTube.

“So it’s actually a broad set of experiences. Similarly, Vivek was the first tech lead of what is now called the Google Assistant. So we’ve actually worked on search on both sides,” Ramaswamy says, a graduate from IIT Chennai. This is why they felt “confident enough” that they could build the technology relatively inexpensively, he adds.

With a 45-person team in the US, the plan is to roll out Neeva in “four-five months”, first in the home market of the US and then English-speaking regions like Western Europe, Australia and India. “Fortunately we have a great team of engineers, designers and product managers, and very good backers,” says Ramaswamy. Neeva has raised $37.5 million so far, with equal investments from Greylock, Sequoia Capital and Ramaswamy himself.

The product will be different from what people are used to, offering a single window for search and queries into personal data on services like Dropbox and email accounts, Ramaswamy says. “We have to rethink the core technology. And at some level, things like how you crawl the web, how you index the basics are similar,” he says. Like Google, Neeva will also use AI and machine learning to create the secret sauce — rankings for searches.

On apprehensions that may arise regarding personal data, Ramaswamy says, “We guarantee that the product and company are designed so that personal data is indexed to serve your results, and for nothing else… We are creating a company that, from the beginning, is customer first and customer only. We are very adamant about making sure that this is the one and only revenue source.”

A blog on Neeva also reiterates its commitment to be ad-free, guarantees that “your data will never be sold in any form whatsoever”, and promises that search history will be deleted by default after 90 days. (Google’s default is 18 months.)

Having spent 16 years at Google, Ramaswamy says he has come to believe that it is “just not healthy” to have very large tech platforms control so much. “There are good people there, that’s not the issue. If you need to make more money, the temptation to show one more ad is just very strong,” he says, adding that what Neeva provides is a choice. “And giving this choice creates a richer Internet.”

He is aware of the challenges of offering a paid product, and the need to ensure that it is “excellent”. However, Ramaswamy says, for him that is the motivation. He cites the example of services like Spotify and Dropbox, which succeeded in segments where there was no dearth of free options, and hopes that Neeva may also force their competitors to cut back on ads. “… You can’t now say, I’m going to show a page full of ads… Users are going to go for a paid option, because too much is too much.”

Ramswamy adds, “We feel confident that a certain segment of the population will see value in a superior product. And especially in the current environment of worry, about how large and how influential the tech companies are, we feel we can get enough people who say ‘I just want a simple alternative, a service that I use, that I pay’. And that’s it, there’s no more worry about data, there’s no more worry about what else is going on.”

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